The Man Who Broke
by Clare McGee-Novak
Summary: The explosion changed everyone. But for one special agent, it completely altered his way of life and the way he thought. Timothy McGee is the one who was altered. Timothy McGee was the one who changed the team. Timothy McGee was the one who broke. (Some slash.)
1. Chapter 1

"Come on, McLate. Gibbs is gonna be so pissed at you. Get your McButt into work!" Tony DiNozzo shouted into his phone before turning it off and thrusting it into his pocket.

"Anything?" Ziva David asked from her perch on her chair, where she was going through the work schedule to make sure their late partner, Timothy McGee, didn't have the day off.

"Nothing. I called his cell phone and his home phone, texted him, beeped his beeper, paged his pager, sent him ten emails, and put out a McGeekMan signal. He should have seen or heard at least one," Tony replied and slumped into his chair, throwing a glance over at the empty desk that belonged to McGee.

It was early on a Friday morning at NCIS. It had been a month since the big explosion and only a week and half from when they each had their psychiatric evaluations.

Tony and Ziva were the only two in the bullpen. Abby, Ducky, and Gibbs had been out late last night and had called in to say they would be late. Palmer was somewhere in the building, showing around a new financial secretary.

Timothy McGee was the only one who was off the radar.

"I do not understand. McGee always tells someone when he is going to be absent. Even with his sister, he said he had laryngitis. The worry is driving me up the hall that something is wrong with him," Ziva crushed a pencil in her hand and exhaled sharply.

"Okay, first off, it's up the wall. Second, there's always been something wrong with McTardy. Besides, he's probably just sleeping," Tony replied.

"He is quite a deep sleeper," Ziva sighed and also looked over the empty desk that was diagonal to hers.

"...How do you know how he sleeps?" Tony raised his eyebrows and leaned forward in his chair, resting his elbows on the keyboard in front of him.

"He spent a few nights at my apartment when his was being renovated. That Jethro is quite a snorer," She replied.

"I never snore," A voice said from behind the bullpen.

"Boss! Hi. Uh, Ziva was talking about K9 Jethro. Not human Jethro. Which would be you... Uh. How was last night?" Tony quickly leaned back and put his hands in his lap.

"It was fine," Leroy Jethro Gibbs grumbled and walked over to his desk, coffee cup in one hand and Caf!Pow in the other.

"Are you going to see Abby?" Ziva stood up and walked over to Gibbs's desk.

"Soon, yeah. Why?" Gibbs sat down and placed the two drinks in front of him.

"No reason. No reason at all," Tony replied for Ziva and walked over to the desk also, standing next to the Israeli, their two body masses just enough to block McGee's desk from Gibbs's view.

"I already saw the desk, DiNozzo. Where the hell is he?" Gibbs looked down and shuffled through a few papers that were on his desk.

"In the head."

"With Palmer."

His two agents replying in unison caused the marine to look up, "Why is he in the head with Palmer?"

"He's not. He's with Palmer. Showing the new secretary around." Tony replied quickly.

"Yes. He is." Ziva agreed.

"I just saw Palmer and Alex. She hasn't met any of the team yet." Gibbs stood up, glaring at the two in front of him.

"Oh," Tony whispered, and then winced when a sharp pain occurred at the back of his head.

"Where is McGee," Gibbs growled.

"He hasn't shown up yet, boss," Tony said and quickly jumped behind Ziva, to avoid getting a second slap.

"Yeah. I got that, DiNozzo. But where is he?" The older man crossed his arms across his chest and stared at his agents.

"We do not know, Gibbs. We have done everything we can to contact him. He has not responded," Ziva said.

"Everything?" Gibbs asked.

"Called him on cell and home, emailed him, paged him, texted him, and beeped him. He hasn't responded to anything. The only thing left to do is go knock on his door," Tony said, holding up his phone for evidence of the calls and texts.

"Well then why are you still here?" Gibbs turned on his heel, picked up the Caf!Pow and coffee, and headed for the elevators.

"We have permission to leave?" Tony called after him.

"Part of our team is off the map. We need to find him. You have permission to do anything!" Gibbs barked before stepping into the open elevator.

"…Gibbs, hold the door!" Tony yelled and ran over, jumping into the metal contraption just before the doors closed.

"What, DiNozzo?" Gibbs asked as he glared at his agent.

"I have something to say. It's about Tim," Tony replied.

Gibbs glared at him for a few more seconds before he decided to flip the emergency switch.

After all, Tony calling McGee by his first name usually meant he was genuinely concerned.

"I'm guessing you want me to talk…Uh. Have you seen Tim shoot recently?" Tony awkwardly rubbed the back of his head as he spoke.

"A gun? No, not in a couple years: he always reschedules when it's time to practice. Why?"

"I saw him fire six shots."

"And?" Gibbs's tone was turning into quite an annoyed one.

"They were all directly to the head. Every single one, Gibbs," Tony said, crossing his arms across his chest and leaning back.

"When you find him, bring him straight to me. Got it?" Gibbs flipped the switch once again and the elevator started humming again.

Tony nodded and pushed the button to open the doors. He stepped out and watched Gibbs slowly disappear.

"Well?" Ziva appeared next to him and handed him his gear.

"Let's go find our partner," Tony grabbed his gear from her and headed for the stairs.

There was no time for elevators

* * *

"McGeekkkkkkkk. You're late for workkkkkk," Tony knocked on the door of McGee's apartment and talked in a singsong voice.

"He is not answering. Can't we just break in?" Ziva crossed her arms and tapped her left foot impatiently.

"Ziva, I've knocked twice. Give the man some time to put on his pants."

Ziva was going to respond, but she suddenly froze.

"What?" Tony asked.

"Shut up," Ziva hissed.

"But what is it!" Tony whispered back.

"Listen," She commanded, putting her ear against the door and closing her eyes.

Tony, now intrigued, copied her action, "That sounds like.."

"A dogs whine, yes. Jethro never whines. Unless there is something wrong."

Tony's eyes widened and he started to pound on the door," Tim! Tim? Open up!"

The pounding on the door caused the German Sheppard inside to start howling.

"Ziva, door. Now," The Italian commanded and stepped away quickly as the Israeli brought her leg up and side-kicked the door handle, smashing the frame and allowing the door to swing open.

The two agents were then attacked by a flying fur-ball.

"Jethro! Get off! Ew...He just licked my mouth!" Tony rolled around on the floor, trying to dislodge the large animal that was trying to spread his salvia on every spot of Tony's face.

Ziva was already inside and checking out the premise.

"Tony!" Ziva's quick shout made Tony jump up and run inside.

He hurried in, stood beside Ziva, and froze on the spot.

"What the hell...," Tony whispered as he looked around the apartment.

The furniture in the apartment had been moved around to allow a large center area where there was a large desk. On the desk were piles of papers, folders, assorted maps, and two laptops that were both running several programs.

The windows were all covered and the only light was coming from several lamps that were gathered around the desk.

This was not something that was normal for the tidy McGee to have.

"Is he redecorating?" Ziva looked around, her head tilted in confusion at the strange surroundings.

"Into a 007 theme?" Tony walked over to the desk and sat down, rummaging through a few papers, "Zee…Come here."

"What are those?" Ziva leaned in over Tony's shoulder and looked down at the papers.

"They're files," He replied, now turning his attention to the computer screens.

"On what?"

"Us, our people, Fornell's group. Hell, here's even one on that one eyed idiot," Tony picked up a few papers and handed them to Ziva.

She looked over the familiar picture of Trent Kort and opened her mouth to speak but then closed it once again.

"What?" Tony turned in the chair, trying to get a better view.

"Look at these notes," She handed him the papers once again and pointed at many small clumps of writing that could only have been written by McGee.

**Easy to go to.**

**Doesn't pry.**

**Can be trusted.**

**Master of disguise.**

**Able to get fake ID's.**

**Genius in many subjects.**

"What the hell?! 'Can be trusted'? 'Easy to go to'? What is wrong with McGee?" Tony snatched the paper and threw it on the desk.

"I do not know, but something is definitely wrong, and we need to find out what that something is. Soon," Ziva squeezed Tony's shoulder and headed for the front door where Jethro the dog was sitting.

"Should we grab anything before we go?" Tony stood up and looked over the papers on the desk.

"Grab the files on us. And get Jethro a toy," She patted her thigh and Jethro followed as she started to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Tony shouted after her, hurryingly grabbing the papers and finding a suitable dog before running after the Israeli.

"McGee is missing and clearly, something is quite wrong. Do you really think that I am just going to sit around and wait for others to do what I can do better?" Ziva was already at the car and securing Jethro in the backseat when Tony finally caught up to her.

She turned to him, just as they were about to climb in the car, "I do not wish to lose anymore family."

"Ziva, for all we know, he could be doing a secret mission for the president. Don't worry. Our family will stay intact. We always will," He smiled, climbed into the car, and drove away.

They did not have any time to waste. Timothy McGee was quickly becoming a problem, as the team would soon see.

* * *

**This is going to be a VERY fun story to write.**

**Just a heads up, updates will NOT be on any type of schedule. It usually takes me two or three weeks to write up the chapters, so don't lose hope...  
**

**Well. Reviews are greatly appreciated :}  
**


	2. Chapter 2

"I can't believe this! They break into my home, steal my dog, and take my papers!" Timothy McGee roared in anger as he sat down and pushed multiple stacks of paper off of his desk.

"So what do you plan on doing about it? Yell your head off like an immature child? Or go do the same to them?" A man's voice asked from behind Tim.

"They don't have pets," Tim responded, sighing at the feeling of soft hands rubbing his shoulders.

"That doesn't matter. Just ransacking their houses should suffice," The man said.

Tim tilted his head back and stared into deep blue eyes that were slightly covered by dark hair.

The blue-eyed man grinned and leaned his head down to place a soft kiss on Tim's lips, "We haven't the time to dillydally, Tim. We've got work to do and Trent should be over in a half hour."

"Luke, " Tim spun his chair around so that he was facing the man and grabbed his wrist, Tim's pale skin standing out on the man's dark skin, "I don't think we're safe here."

Luke bent down so that he was at eye level with Tim and put his elbows on the sitting man's knees, "Don't worry, I doubt they'll come back. And if they do…well, let's just say you might get an early Christmas present. Besides, babe, Trent said the tech house should be done within the next two weeks."

Tim sighed and pinched Luke's dark cheeks, "Fine. But we are getting my dog back."

"Anything for you, love," Luke winked and pushed off of Tim's legs, standing up straight and looming over Tim.

Tim smiled and turned his chair back around, scowling at the multiple pieces of paper he had pushed off.

"I was thinking of going to the shooting range today. Would you like to go?" Luke's voice wandered over from the kitchen where he had walked off to.

"Could Trent go? I really need to talk to him," Tim replied as he grabbed his laptop from a desk drawer and started it up.

"I smuposeme so," Luke's muffled voice said.

Tim looked from around his computer screen to look at Luke, whose cheeks were fit to burst at any second,

"Mind repeating that?"

"I said, 'I suppose so'. Gosh, Tim. I thought you understood me," Luke pretended to flip his nonexistent long hair in a dramatic way and sighed.

Tim shook his head and returned to his computer, "You're so strange…"

"Yet you still love me," Luke plopped himself on the armchair across from the desk and grinned.

"Damn right I do," Tim gave a small smile before returning to his work.

He had a lot of work to do before Trent Kort showed up. A lot of work indeed.

* * *

"You go tell him."

"No, you go tell him."

"Oh no, Ziva, I'm senior field agent. So I'm ordering you to go te- _OW_!"

"Ziva! Let go of Tony's ear!" Gibbs barked when he walked in on his two agents fighting in the middle of the bullpen.

Ziva reluctantly let loose of the ear that she had tried to rip off and sulked off to her desk.

"What do you need to tell me?" Gibbs crossed his arms and stared down his agents.

"Well," Tony said as he looked at Ziva and took a deep breath.

"McGee wasn't in his apartment."

"So we broke in."

"And found files on people."

"People as in us."

"And other unimportant people."

"I'd say some of them were important."

"Anyway."

"We took the papers."

"Oh, and McGee's dog."

Ziva and Tony finished their short speech and looked quite proud of themselves.

"…You stole McGee's dog?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows.

"Borrowed."

"Acquired."

"Right…So there was no sign of McGee?" Gibbs sat on the edge of his desk and threw a glance over at the empty desk across the bullpen that belonged to said McGee.

"Well, we didn't really stay to look around that much. But he wasn't there," Tony said.

"You two are coming over for dinner tonight. And bring those papers," Gibbs stood and walked around his desk so that he could sit in his chair.

"Just us?" Ziva asked.

"You do not have permission to tell Abby, if that's what you're asking," Gibbs snarled.

"Boss, her friend is off the map. Not only does she deserve to know, but she could also help us find McLost. She could track his cell phone or something," Tony explained as he made his way to his desk to take a seat and start his own computer up.

"Impossible," Ziva said shortly from her seat.

"What is?' Gibbs directed his attention to the Israeli.

"To track McGee's cell. It is impossible," She said.

"How do you know this?" Tony asked.

"He told me when he went shopping with me when I needed a new phone. It was quite fascinating and quite boring at the same time," Ziva explained.

"Every phone is traceable, even one made by McFrankenstein. Right, boss?" Tony looked to his boss for some moral support in supporting his theory.

"You'd have to ask Abby, not me," Gibbs replied.

"So we are bringing in Abby…?" Tony asked as he perched on the edge of his seat, ready to jump up and head down to the lab.

"Fine. But make sure to cover yourself when you tell her that McGee's missing. I'm pretty sure she'll fly off the handle," Gibbs waved his hand at them in a shooing manner and turned his attention back to work.

"Zee-Vah! Let's vamoose to the lab!" Tony jumped up and grabbed Ziva's arm, nearly pulling her out of the chair as he started to drag her to the elevator.

"I do not understand. Why are we moosing?" Ziva's confused voice followed Tony's rambling to the elevator where the sounds soon disappeared after the two had stepped inside the metal box and the doors had closed.

Gibbs was now alone in the bullpen. He could hear some other NCIS personall working on the other side of the thin wall that divided up the workplaces, but Gibbs was too deep in thought to care about how the two men from accounting were fighting with someone from the forensics team about last night's football game.

Where was McGee? Was he okay? Had something happened?

Gibbs rubbed his forehead and sighed. He had a gut feeling that the days and nights leading up to the finding of Tim were going to be long ones.

That is, _if_ they found Tim…

* * *

**So, the update didn't take as long as I expected. I'm glad for that.**

**I hope you guys enjoy how the story is going.**

**Any thoughts about Luke?**

**Once again, reviews are ****greatly**** appreciated.**

**And if you haven't already, feel free to check out my other stories :)**

**Until next update..A-llonsy!**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, I had received a few reviews that said how confused people were...I apologize for that.**

** I hope this chapter clears a few things up.**

* * *

Six shots. Straight through the targets head area.

Tim smiled proudly at the target. Head shots had become his specialty. He had never missed when he aimed at the target's head.

Mostly due to the fact of whose head he imagined shooting.

**Gibbs. Abby. Tony. Ziva. His father.**

Tim hadn't realized how much he _hated_ those people until Luke had shown him a few reasons.

Luke was currently a few feet away and shooting at his own target while Trent Kort flirted with one of the shooting range employees.

Tim thought back to how he had met Luke and how Trent had gotten involved.

Luke first showed up at the hospital where Tim was recovering from his injury that was caused by the explosion.

Luke had just walked in and started talking to Tim. And Tim didn't mind a complete stranger wandering into his room. He actually enjoyed having someone to chat with. After all, his teammates hadn't even stopped in once to see how he was doing.

Tim and Luke talked for the few days that Tim was in the hospital and they continued to talk after Tim was released.

The two became boyfriends about a week after they met.

Some might say that was a bit rushed, but Tim had really connected with Luke and he knew that he had fallen for the man after just their first hour together.

Tim still remembered the moment when Luke had convinced him to turn to the dark side.

Luke had pointed out how the team didn't appreciate him. How they took him for granted, and how they didn't even come to visit him after he was injured.

Luke made Tim break, but the NCIS agent was glad for that. Very glad.

A sharp sound of a hit interrupted Tim's thoughts, and he turned to see the one-eyed man nursing his nose as a pissed employee stomped away.

Tim let out a small laugh as he saw Luke cracking up while Kort sulked.

Trent getting involved hadn't necessarily been a part of the plan that Tim and Luke had devised. But he had stopped by Tim's apartment one day to check on the agent, and he had seemed to just instantly fit in with Luke.

With Kort, being CIA, and Luke, being a 'retired' MI6 agent—Luke spoke with a British accent that he was quite proud of—The two men had become buddies after talking for mere minutes.

Focusing one the target once again, Tim picked up another gun and lifted it up, ready to shoot.

He looked at the head of the target and imagined the people that he saw there and the reasons for them to be up there.

**Gibbs**. The father figure to everyone. Everyone except Tim, of course. Gibbs never cared for Tim. Hell, he hadn't even visited him in the hospital.

Tim always felt that Gibbs looked down on him and didn't even want Tim as an agent. But he probably couldn't fire Tim unless he had a legit reason for it, and not liking someone isn't a good enough reason for someone to lose their job.

**Abby.** Some 'best friend' she was. Tim has always been fine with the fact that their relationship hadn't worked out, but she never really let it go. Abby would flirt, then ignore him, then invite him over for 'dinner', and then act like she didn't know him.

The goth hadn't even cared when she heard about Tim getting hurt during the explosion. She had just replied with a snide remark and changed the subject.

**Tony.** The brother he never had or wanted. Though Tony wasn't much of a brother. He was more of a bully.

Tony never tired of making fun of Tim's last name, or up until recent times, his weight. McGee never responded to the insults. He didn't know what to say back or how Tony would react.

**Ziva.** She replaced Kate. She replaced Tim. She changed everything.

Ziva took the impossible job of filling Kate's spot, but Tim never thought she had come close to fill it. The Israeli could never replace Kate.

The ex-Mossad agent also took Tim's spot. She had simply knocked Tim back down to the lowest place on the team and gladly claimed her place just below Tony.

**Admiral McGee.** He won't be winning the father of the year award anytime soon.

Although Tim had talked to him recently (due to his grandmother's request), the Admiral hadn't changed one bit. He still criticized Tim for his work, claiming that the son of an Admiral should have reached a higher potential than being a simple field agent.

Tim shot the target. Each bullet hitting a different image in his head, though he saved two for Gibbs.

"Nicely done," A smooth voice whispered into his ear, causing Tim to jump slightly.

"Thanks…Is Trent's nose okay?" Tim leaned back, resting his body against the one behind him.

"Yes. Though I doubt his pride is," Luke replied as he wrapped his arms around Tim's lean waist.

Tim laughed softly and placed his hands on Luke's, "We should go. I need to go to work and pick up Jethro."

"I could just pick him up by myself. It'd be much faster and a lot easier," Luke said.

"Thanks for the offer, but no thanks. I need to let the team see me," Tim sighed and straightened up, moving away from Luke and turning to look at him.

"Why?" The British man crossed his arms across his chest and raised his eyebrows.

"They need to know that I'm around and that they needn't worry about anything. I don't want to raise suspicion by not showing up to work for several days in a row. Also, I never gave a notice of my absence. So, I'll just use all my vacation days. That'll give me at least three months off the radar," Tim explained.

"Three months of vacation? When was the last time you took a day for yourself?" Luke said with disbelief.

"I've no idea," The pale man shrugged. "But that doesn't matter. Let's just get Trent and go. The team won't be there much longer. It's almost seven," Tim walked past Luke and grabbed a hold of the man's shirt, dragging him to the car where they found Trent, who was sitting against the back door and still looking quite pitiful.

"Ready?" Trent opened the backseat door and looked at Tim, who saw that Trent's nose the color of his black eye patch.

"Ready," Luke and Tim said in unison as they climbed into the car and drove away.

* * *

**That was a terrible end to a chapter, wasn't it?**

**I'm sorry that it was shorter than usual. I just wanted to give you guys something to read.**

**Again, about people being confused, it's only the third chapter! I haven't explained everything yet. But don't worry. All will be clear soon. I hope.**

**I hope you all enjoyed. **

**Reviews are appreciated.**

**Happy early Thanksgiving!**


	4. Chapter 4

"What the hell do you mean by 'you lost McGee'?" Abby asked, her voice surprisingly calm.

"Well. Uh, I think Ziva should answer that question," Tony replied and pushed the Israeli towards Abby before stepping back and leaning against the table that held Abby's 'babies'.

"He is not really lost. We just have not been able to contact him at all," Ziva said, trying her best to explain in a positive manner.

After all, you don't want an out of control Abby on your hands.

"Are you sure this isn't just lke when Sarah was being framed?" Abby asked.

"Yep, we called her about an hour ago. She's in California with a few friends. And she also said she hasn't heard from him in a few days, which is unusual for McGoober," Tony said.

"This is a situation where I should be freaking out. But don't worry. I'll stay calm," Abby said and put her arms out in front of her, turning towards Ziva who automatically moved into a fighting stance.

"Ziva, hug her. Don't punch her," Tony said quickly, worried that Ziva might actually attack Abby.

Ziva grumbled for a few seconds but then gave in. She went into a neutral stance and allowed Abby to hug the air out of her lungs.

"See? That wasn't so ba- oof!" Tony was cut off as Abby also engulfed him into an embrace.

He hadn't even seen her move towards him.

"Okay. I'm good now," Abby let go of Tony and stepped back, taking a deep breath before turning back towards her computer.

"Well, Tony and I better get back upstairs. I believe Gibbs wanted us to write some reports," Ziva smiled apologetically and quickly stepped towards the door before Abby decided to launch another hug attack.

"Wait! You can just ask him if he wants you to do reports," Abby said before they could leave, holding up her phone that showed 'Silver Fox calling".

"How does he do that…It's like he has super Gibbs powers that tell him when to call people," Tony waved his hands around while he spoke, as if to illustrate the magical being that was their leader.

Ziva just looked at him like he was an idiot. Which, at some times, he was.

"Well, SuperGibbs wants you two upstairs," Abby shut her phone. The phone call had only lasted long enough for Gibbs to mutter a few words. "He says it's important."

"Alrighty. Ninja, let's go. See ya, Abbs," Tony moved over to her and gave her a little fist bump.

"Keep me updated!" Abby said as she watched them leave.

* * *

Tim stepped out of the elevator and pulled tightly down on his shirt, getting rid of the nonexistent creases.

He was at the Navy Yard. Not back to work, though. Just to pick up k9 Jethro.

Tim took a deep breath and walked over to the bullpen. Tony and Ziva were not there, and much to Tim's surprise, neither was Gibbs.

Tim was getting a bit angry when he heard someone clear his or her throat behind him.

He turned and almost bumped into the boss man.

"McGee," Gibbs said in a surly tone, walking around him and heading t his desk where he out his fresh coffee down and turned back towards his agent.

"Gibbs," Tim replied, biting his lower lip, as he looked Gibbs up and down.

Tim had always had many dark fantasies of what he would do with Gibbs.

"You've been off the maps. No one's heard from you. You gave no notice. What the hell, McGee?" Gibbs raised his eyebrows at the younger man and crossed his arms.

"I gave an email notice that I would be taking a vacation. It's just that you are too archaic to turn on your computer and check your mail. Therefore, it should be 'what the hell, Gibbs' not 'what the hell, Tim'," Tim snapped. He was quite annoyed with being blamed for someone else's failure. That happened way too much around this stupid place.

"Just because you're on vacation does not mean you have permission to disrespect me!" Gibbs barked, taking a step closer to Tim, who stood still, a cocky grin stuck on his face.

"Oh Jethro, you don't scare me. You never have," Tim also took a step forward, still grinning.

Gibbs just looked at him with a dumbstruck and confused look. His agents never called him Jethro.

Tim moved quickly while Gibbs was still a bit distracted, and the younger man was soon inches away from the older.

Had this been early in the morning, there would be many agents whispering and pointing at the scene. But, it was late and Gibbs and Tim were the only ones on the level.

Gibbs tried to step away from Tim and make the situation less uncomfortable, but Tim put his hands around Gibbs's wrists and pulled him close.

The two were now chest to chest, and Tim was staring hungrily down at Gibbs.

"McGee, what're you doin-" Gibbs was cut off by plump lips being pressed against his chapped ones.

The sensation was…_strange_. Gibbs had kissed a man before, but Tim didn't exactly have rough lips like the other man. He also didn't have as soft lips as any woman he had kissed.

Tim just felt like _Tim_.

Right when Gibbs was about to push back, make the kiss fiercer, Tim pulled away.

"That was just as I had expected it to be," Tim licked his lips and stepped back.

"I…I don't understand," Gibbs stepped away quickly, hitting his legs on the front of his desk, causing him to plop down on the top of the desk.

"Don't worry. There's not much to understand. I've just always wanted to do that, among other things. But I'm pretty sure that I could get arrested for having my way with you in here," Tim shrugged and turned on his heel.

"Oh, and tell Palmer not to worry when he gets into work tomorrow. I took Jethro home."

Gibbs watched him go, speechless.

How had Tim known that they were keeping the dog down in autopsy? Why had Tim kissed him? And most importantly, what changed his agent?

Gibbs reached a hand into his pocket and pulled out his phone. He quickly hit number 3 and the phone called Abby.

Once she picked up, he told her to send Tony and Ziva up.

He needed to tell them what had happened. But, he figured that he would leave out the kiss.

Gibbs also decided that he would make Tony teach him how to use emailing. Again.

But that could wait. What mattered most was talking to his agents and discussing the strangeness of Tim.

His agent had not been himself. And it was his job to find out why.

* * *

**Hey guys. **

**Yes, I'm still alive. And really sorry for the long wait. I just couldn't write. **

**Blame writer's block.**

**Well. I hope you enjoyed this. **

**And quick note, Tim isn't going to cheat on Luke. They kinda have an open relationship. Know what I mean?**

**Anywho. I hope to be updating again soon. I'll be on vacation and I'll have a LOT of tim to just write.**

**See you soon.**


	5. Chapter 5

Tony pulled his car to the curb and turned the engine off.

He could see a red Mini Cooper across the street, and that let him know that Ziva and Ducky –Ziva lost the rock paper scissors game against Tony and had to drive the ME to the dinner at Gibbs's– had arrived.

As Tony undid his seat belt and turned into his seat to grab the two six packs he had brought, his hand rubbed against his NCIS jacket and that him to remember what had happened after Gibbs had called them upstairs.

Gibbs had been acting strange, and Tony still didn't know why. But when he and Ziva had first walked into the bullpen, they found their boss at his desk, his face a mixture of rage, confusion, and interest. However, once he saw his agents, his face turned to stone and he reminded them of dinner and told them that one of them would have to bring Ducky with them. He then left, leaving Ziva and Tony very confused.

Tony shook his head and grabbed the beer. He wondered if he'd ever find the day where he would finally understand his boss.

The senior field agent then climbed out of his car and started to walk up to Gibbs's house. The lights were all on, though no sounds from inside the home could be heard. Tony figured that the group had relocated from the comfortable dining area to the musty and cold basement.

He scrunched up his nose at the thought of seeing yet another boat in that room. Tony would never be okay with the boat making until he found out how Gibbs got the damn things out of the basement.

When Tony got to the door, he held up his hand to knock, but then lowered it to the handle and turned it. Unlocked, of course.

He walked in and closed the door behind him before yelling out, "Beer's here!"

"Basement, DiNozzo," Gibbs's gruff voice yelled back.

"And it better be good!"

Tony looked down at the beer in his hands and sighed. He had forgotten the boss's favorite beer again.

Silently cursing at himself for forgetting, Tony made his way to the basement, almost dropping the alcohol when he slipped on the top step of the stairs.

"Sorry! I spilt some cheese and mac on the stairs. I was about to go clean it up," Ziva apologized as she took one of the six packs out of Tony's hands as he reached the bottom of the stairs.

"It's mac and cheese, Ziva. Not the other way around," Tony sighed at the 'Zivaism' and looked around the basement. Thankfully there was no boat, but instead there was a large table with Ducky and Gibbs sitting around it.

The table had multiple cartons of Chinese food on it and also a large bowl of mac and cheese.

Ziva shook her head and turned her attention to putting some of the mac and cheese and some Chinese food on a paper plate she had in her hand. Soon Gibbs and Ducky copied her actions, and after placing the beer in a cooler, Tony also started to pile food onto his plate.

After they all had found seats again after standing up and moving around the table to get at the food, the room was full of silence: except for the sounds of chewing and requests for more napkins.

Once the paper plates had been discarded and everyone (Excluding Ducky, who stuck to a glass of red wine) opened their second beer, Gibbs decided to speak up and bring their meeting to a serious manner.

"I think you all know why I invited you here tonight," Gibbs said as he set his beer bottle down on the table and stood from his chair.

"Actually, no. I am guessing that it has to do something with Timothy, but I don't believe I am in the same circle of information that Anthony and Ziva are," Ducky explained as he pointed at Tony and Ziva.

"You're right about it involving Ti-, er, McGee," Gibbs cleared his throat and started to pace about the room. A slight blush had started to form on his face after thinking about Tim and what had happened just less than an hour ago. He hoped that in the low lighting of the room that none of the team could see the sudden pinking of his cheeks.

"Well then. I say we get started," Ducky leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms across his chest.

* * *

"Timothy McGee! You come get you mutt off of me!" Trent Kort yelled through Tim's apartment.

Tim shook his head and closed his laptop, "Luke honey, please leave Trent alone."

He leaned back and pushed his rolling chair away from his desk. His eyes were starting to get tired form staring at a computer screen for the past hour and he figured he deserved a break. Even if his break would include communication by yelling though out the apartment.

"HEY!" The sound of Luke's angry voice boomed from the kitchen and he came stomping out.

"I am not a mutt!"

"Well neither is Jethro," Tim said with a slight smirk as he looked his boyfriend up and down.

Luke must have been in the process of making some food because he was wearing an apron that was covered in what seemed to be flour. He also had a small amount of flour on his nose that Tim found quite adorable.

"Well if you're going to call me a mutt, then you aren't going to be able to have any of my cookies," Luke stuck up his nose and crossed his arms across his chest.

The NCIS agent sighed and rolled his eyes, "I'm sorry for thinking that Trent called you a mutt. We good now?"

Luke shrugged and walked over to him.

"Sure," He said with a smile as he bent down and kissed Tim's forehead, "You better go save Kort though. I'm not sure Jethro likes him."

Tim raised a hand and swiped at Luke's nose, wiping off the flour. He then stood and headed to the bedroom where he knew Trent was.

As he walked towards the room, he received a sharp smack to his behind, courtesy of Luke.

"Took you long enough," Trent's muffled voice came from the bathroom once Tim had knocked on the bedroom door and came in.

"Jethro, kitchen," Tim looked at the German Sheppard lounging on the bed and motioned towards the kitchen. Jethro then hopped off and left, tail wagging happily. Jethro seemed quite happy with having scared an ex-CIA agent into the bathroom.

"Come out, Trent. Jet's gone."

Kort slowly opened the bathroom door and looked around, as if he didn't believe Tim. Once he was convinced that the dog had indeed left, he stepped out of the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Trying to look inconspicuous, he then brushed some nonexistent lint off of his shirt and headed for the bedroom door.

"You're kind of pathetic," Tim remarked as he followed Trent out of the bedroom.

"That dog has it out for me. I know it," Trent said as he walked into the living area, turned on his portable radio, and plopped down on the couch. Although he could smell something baking in the kitchen, he decided to avoid another confrontation with the German Sheppard.

Tim smiled as he heard Luke singing some song about baking, and he sat back down in his chair. He wasn't even going to try and get any more work done tonight. Too much had already occurred today and he was starting to get a little stressed.

Tim leaned back in his chair and started to slowly close his eyes, but he abruptly opened them again when his phone started to ring. Tim's heart rate started to rise as he stood up and walked to where his phone was. That wasn't just a normal ring. That was a personalized one.

Leroy Jethro Gibbs's personalized ringtone.

Tim's head started to swim. He didn't know why, but he suddenly started feeling light headed and sick to his stomach.

"Lu-Luke!" He cried out in a panicky tone.

Tim's last sight before everything going black was Luke rushing towards him.

Luke had gotten more flour on his nose.

Tim smiled as his body rushed to the floor. Luke really looked ridiculous.

* * *

**Oh my. Is Tim falling for Gibbs? (See what I did there? huh huh? No? Okay)**

**Well our dear McGee might be having second guesses about bringing the team down. And all because of one kiss.**

**Or, he'll use the kiss as leverage on Gibbs.**

**You never know. (I honestly don't even know yet)**

**I apologize for the long wait. I've been traveling and have had limited time for writing. I hope you all can forgive me.**

**And if you do forgive me...My story 'The Watcher' could use a few more readers. It is honestly my favorite story to write ad I'm sure you McNozzo and McGibbs fans will enjoy it.**

**I will try really hard to keep the waits short and the chapters long.**

**Remember, reviews are awesome. And every time you review, a baby unicorn is born. So. Yeah.**

**See you next update. **


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer- I don't own NCIS or any of it's characters. **

* * *

McGoo. McGoogle. McTardy. McFlowerPower. McFlabby. Elf Lord. McZero.

These words swam around Tim's head and made him sick as he sat up suddenly.

He still felt weak from his collapse earlier and couldn't quite register where he was yet.

It was only when he felt a soft hair run through is hair that he realized that he was on his bed and lying against Luke's chest.

"Hey, you're alive," Luke smiled and kissed the top of Tim's head.

Tim reached his hand up and patted blindly at Luke's face, "What happened?"

"The world exploded and we're now living on Mars," Luke said, his voice a tone of seriousness.

"You…Butt," Tim struggled for a second to think of a proper insult.

"Come on, why'd I faint or whatever?"

"At least I'm a pretty butt. And Trent looked you over, said you were just overworked or something. I think he might be right. You slept through the entire night. It's around ten in the morning now. But I think you've been pushing yourself a lot," Luke placed his chin on Tim's head and sighed.

"You need a break, Timmy."

"No. No. I can't take a break. Not until this is all over, not until they've all paid for what they've done," Tim pulled himself away from Luke and climbed off the bed, wobbling a bit as he stood.

"Timmy," Luke said in a desperate tone, knowing that that calling him that always got Tim to listen, "I'm all for taking down your team. You know that."

Tim just shook his head and started to pace back and forth alongside the bed.

"Timothy McGee, you listen to me," Luke almost shouted at his boyfriend as he stood and grabbed Tim's arms.

"You need to slow down or you'll drive yourself mad."

Tim looked at Luke for a few silent moments before he started to smile. And as his grin grew, he started to laugh slowly.

"Don't you get it?" He said slowly between the laughing.

"..Get what?" Luke looked at the man before him with a cautious eye.

"I've always been mad. Or at least since the explosion. Or maybe the near-death experience just brought my madness to the surface. I don't really know. But what I do know is that I'm not the same man who was teased and made fun of for endless hours. I'm not the same man who could be easily pushed over. I'm not…myself anymore. There's a new me now," Tim stopped talking as his smiled faded and he looked down at his bedroom floor.

"And this new me is prepared to do _anything_ to make people pay for what they've done."

Luke was about to respond to Tim, though he didn't know what to say, when a knock at the bedroom door interrupted him.

"Uh, bit of a problem." Trent said as he stuck his head into room.

"What is it, baldy?" Luke asked, a bit annoyed with the intrusion.

Trent glared at Luke but started to explain, "Three members of Tim's team just pulled up. They'll be knocking at the door in roughly three minutes, they're bickering about something that the idiot DiNozzo did. Just thought you'd like to know, Britty."

"You're British too so that name doesn't work," Luke yelled as Trent disappeared from the doorway.

Tim's head snapped up at the mention of his team and he immediately pulled away from Luke's grasp and hurried over to his closet where he quickly got dressed.

"You and Trent need to stay in here. But put anything that we've been working on away. I don't want to risk them seeing anything."

Luke nodded and quickly left. He and Trent both returned within a minute and stood waiting for further instructions.

"Don't make any noises, got it?" Tim finished pulling a pair of socks on and stood up from his seat on the bed.

"Are you going to let them in?" Luke asked quickly, a bit of confusion showing on his face.

"No, but I'll open the door which means they might be able to hear you two talking. So no talking," Tim walked slowly to the bedroom door and walked out, closing the door behind him and leaving Trent alone with Luke.

Trent's calculations were correct as Tim heard a sharp knocking at the door twenty seconds after leaving the bedroom.

He calmly walked over, looked through the peephole, and saw Tony, Ziva and Gibbs all standing there. Tim could tell that they had been up for the most of the night, but he didn't know why.

Tim waited for Tony to raise his arm as if to knock again before he pulled the door open.

"Do you not understand the meaning of 'vacation'?" Tim said as he faked a yawn, trying to act like he had just woken up or had been lazing around all day.

"McGee, this isn't a joke," DiNozzo said sharply as he tried to make his way inside Tim's apartment but was blocked by Tim's extended arm.

"McGee, we just want to talk. We are worried about you," Ziva stepped forward and her face held concern in it.

"There's nothing to talk about. I'm completely fine," Tim crossed his arms across his chest and leaned against the doorframe.

"McGee. Come on. Just talk to us, we're your friends!" Tony cried out in aggravation. He didn't like how McGee was acting. It didn't seem natural to him.

Tim let out a sigh of frustration and stood up straight, "What the fuck is wrong with you guys? You think there's something wrong with _me_? I'm not the one pestering a co-worker while he's on vacation!"

The three in the hallway stayed quiet. No one knew how to react to Tim's slight outburst. They'd never heard Tim curse before and Tony didn't even know that he knew how to curse.

"Now, if you don't mind, I am going to get back to my vacation. Or is that not alright for you three?" Tim snapped as his eyebrows rose.

Again, no one said anything.

"Well thank you for your cooperation, have a lovely day," Tim gave a short wave before stepping back into his apartment and closing the door.

"I still think there's something up with him…" Tony scratched the back of his head as he started to make his way back to the car.

Ziva nodded in agreement and followed him.

But Gibbs, who hadn't said a word during the encounter, stayed behind for a few minutes and stepped close to Tim's door.

He was about to knock when he heard Tim talking on the other side, "I doubt this was the last time they'll come knocking."

"I know, but don't worry, they won't be around to knock much longer," Gibbs didn't recognize the next voice that spoke but the words made a chill run down his spine.

He stepped away from the door and ran a hand through his hair with a deep sigh.

This was more serious than he had thought.

Way more serious.

* * *

**This chapter took a lot longer to write for some reason. I'm not really sure why.**

**But I hope everyone enjoys it.**

**And I apologize if Tim seemed a bit out of character. **

**Plus, if anyone was wondering, Luke is somewhat based off of the actor Michael Obiora. **

**Also, quick question, how would you guys react if I possibly kill off a character in future chapters? I haven't really decided on whether I want to or not. So opinions will be amazing.**

**As always, reviews are greatly appreciated and help me make progress. **


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